Did you see the news tonight? ABC closed the Nightly News with a story about an Alaskan Airlines 737 that has received a new paint job. It took 30 painters 24 days to paint a salmon on this plane. They call it the "Salmon Thirty Salmon."
The Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board and Alaskan Airlines have gone into a joint venture to promote the sale of fresh seafood from Alaska. Essentially, the plane is a flying billboard for fresh Alaskan seafood.
I have a few problems with the new paint job.
First, Alaska Airlines paid for $75,000 of the paint job. The total cost was in the range of $300,000. The remainder of the tab was picked up by American taxpayers. The Senator from Alaska arranged for that bit of "pork" for his state. His son is the head of the Fisheries Marketing Board.
Second, a normal paint job takes about a week, and should last about four years. Will we be expected to pay for the new paint job in four years? If the advertising was successful, Alaska Airlines should foot the entire bill. If it wasn't successful, then they don't need another flying salmon.
Third, the majority of our population will never see this plane. It's possible that the only contact I'll have with it will be the story on the news tonight. It seems to me that the public relations money could have been spent more wisely.
If you're interested in the story, you can find more details here.
Comments (1)
I thought that was a waste of taxpayer's money also. It just irks me when politicians do stuff like that.
Posted by Susan | October 9, 2005 8:15 PM
Posted on October 9, 2005 20:15